MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. How much should Nigella tip?

A question about : MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. How much should Nigella tip?

Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on:

How much should Nigella tip?

Gordon, Delia, Nigella and Jamie love dining out, and have just discovered their favourite restaurant offers 2for1 discount vouchers. After the next slap up meal, it's Nigella's turn to pay. Yet she dithers when it comes to leaving a tip as Jamie says it should be 10% of the total bill before the discount, Delia thinks 10% after the discount and Gordon thinks they're all mad for entertaining the idea of leaving a tip in the first place.

How much should Nigella tip?

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Best answers:

• Nothing, tipping is outdated.
• I don't think you can have a standard rate- you have to think about each individual restaurant and the service you received.
  Better service, better tip
• Nothing I think that tipping is deeming both to the giver & the recipient. Everybody should be in-titled to a fair days pay without relying on tips! I have never understood why we are expected to tip hairdressers, taxis & waiters why them & not doctors or gardeners or bus drivers?
• As is said in Reservoir Dogs - why do people feel the need to tip a server in, say, Pizza Express but not in McDonalds?
  (us McDonalds staff aren't actually allowed to receive tips, and we probably earn less than most people in positions deemed tip-worthy)
• If the meal and service was really good they should ask if staff actually get the tip, and if they do, then give 15% on the discounted bill in cash.
• I say just over 10% of the bill total (post discount), unless the service is great, in which case I'd pay more.
• I went to Pizza Hut last week, paid full price (hangs head in shame) and didn't tip. For one, we had 2 different waitresses due to shift changes. Chances are that the girl who took and sorted our order when there was a problem wouldn't have got any, but the girl who just took our money would keep it. Secondly there was a problem with my order in that they had to re-cook my pizza as it was wrong even though it was all confirmed with me and simple ~ hold off the olives please. Because of this last point, they rolled the dough so thin it burnt in the middle and was over crispy.
  I totally agree that we don't tip others that are on minimum wage, so why pick and choose? It's about time the government woke up and helped all workers to receive a wage they could actually live on and stop relying on the customer to bump up the measly minimum that no-one can have a life on. I can't afford to eat out (even with offers) and tip too. Does that mean I should have to stay at home?!
• Tip shouldn't be related to the bill - as other posters have said its for service - I've tipped Ј5 in a restaurant for a Ј20 bill when the waiter/waitress has been very attentive; equally I haven't left any tip in an "upmarket" bistro where the food/service was indifferent but the bill came to Ј80 for two.
• If the service was good then I tip no less than 10% on the full price. As others have said, the staff take a low wage in the hope of making up the money on tips, which they receive on merit (apart from when they draw the short straw and get a tight customer).
  As for the comment regarding the lack of tipping in McDonalds, I'm afraid that doesn't qualify as a restaurant. It's a food Argos.
• A few thoughts and responses to previous posts....
  I'm really surprised some peope think no tip at all is correct - but then it takes all sorts I suppose. If restaurants simply increased their prices to basically include the tip, then a) waiters would have no incentive to do a good job b) I would have no way of indicating my satisfaction or not of their service c) I'd effectively have to tip even for poor service (mush as one does with that rediculous automatic adding of 10% to the bill) d) they'd earn less, as it would all be taxed (most tips I believe aren't taxed).
  I don't tip at Maccy D's, because they don't provide waiter/waitress service; I have to queue for it. Therefore, all I am paying for is the food.
  Taxis are a difficult one. I once worked as a taxi driver, but not using my own car. 12 hour night shift every day. I had to fill the car up with petrol at the end of the shift and split all fares 50/50 with the car owner. Needless to say, I didn't earn much doing that job and for me, tips were hugely appreciated.
  My son works in Pizza Hut and I find it quite amazing how tight many people are. He often works a 10 to 12 hour shift with hardly any break. He is always polite and from what I've seen, gives good service. He's 17 and on minimum wage, so the tips make a huge difference - not only to the money he brings home, but to how good he feels. A good day with tips and he feels better about himself I think i.e. I must have done a really good job today. I always look to tip between 10-15%, depending on the service; although bad sevice could mean no tip at all - but then that is the whole point. On one ocassion, my son had a group of 12 people and they all chipped in with a mighty 11 pence tip - so one of them didn't even tip 1p!
  I think maybe the Indian idea of tipping before you get service is even better. Bad or no tip and you know what you'll get!
  We are notoriously bad tippers throughout the world. A friend of mine moved to the states many years ago and his first job was in a fast food resuarant as a waiter. Whenever a British family came in, no-one wanted to serve them and it was a battle of wits between the waiting staff to see who gave in first.
  Oh yes, the question - I think tip based on the full price. If on the discounted price, then be generous and look more towards the 15%.
  Finally, I like an idea the Americans use when tipping. If you've had particularly good service, they add a penny to the tip e.g instead of leaving $5, they leave $5 and one cent. That way, the waiter knows you've really appreciated his service.
  Quote:
• I absolutely detest the idea of tipping. I don't care if they earn very little, they should be pushing themselves in a job that pays more. I don't want to earn minimum wage so I go out and bust a hump in my chosen profession. I suggest they do the same.
  We already pay taxes to support those doley "jobseekers" why the hell should we feel pressured into supporting people who don't earn as much as they would like. It's like benefits for those who lack ambition and drive.
  If anything I might leave a Ј1 or so, but I very very rarely carry cash, and always decline the automatic tip system in places like TGI Fridays. And if anything goes wrong like a wrong meal, spillage, delay, anything like that then I don't tip. Why should I when I'm not fully happy with the service.
  Tipping is disgusting and I refuse point blank to take part.
• Tipping is an embarrassment tax. It relies on you feeling uncomfortable. When you wish to thank the staff for good service then please do so with well-meant words and a smile rather than with dane-gelt. Tipping is demeaning for both parties. If we perpetuate this outdated custom of tipping then we ensure staff stay on subsistence wages rather than being paid a fair wage in the first place. The price you see on a menu should be what you pay.
• I agree we should be done with tipping and the restaurants should be made to pay fair wages to their staff. It's not that bad in this country where we have a proper minimum wage, I hear in the US waitors/waitresses are sometimes paid below minimum wage as it's made up in tips!
  Personally, I tip based on performance. If it was very good service, I'll give 15% of the pre-discount bill. If it was average or below par (as unfortunately I usually find now with restaurants that offer 2for1 deals), I'll give 10% after discount.
  Another thing that bugs me, is a percentage of all the tips going to the management hidden in the small print somewhere. I've been to a restaurant before where the waitor said the automatic 10% gratuity on the bill went straight into the managers pockets. Needless to say I don't eat there anymore.